All was well
by chrisvel
Summary: With their children sorted in the same house and becoming friends, Harry and Draco meet again 19 years after their school days. HD slash in later chapters, Albus Scorpius friendship.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.

**Notes:** This is my attempt at a post-DH Drarry story. The only thing I liked about the epilogue are the children and a few ideas turned into a somewhat longer story idea. It's my first story that I decided to post here and I hope I'll manage to update regularly. Some parts are already written, others are still only in my head. I guess in the end there will be about maybe 7 oder 8 parts to this.

**Thanks:** To my dear sister velja for constant encouragement and nagging me to start posting. And to faynia for posting some prompts on LJ that got me to start writing.

* * *

The owl he had received that afternoon at 5 pm had said that the floo would be opened at exactly 7.30 pm in the evening and at 7pm Harry Potter was more than ready to jump into the fireplace.

He was nervously pacing up and down in his study looking at the clock on the mantelpiece every few minutes and everytime he passed his desk he would pick up the note, read it once more and pace again after putting it back on the desk.

_Mr. Potter,_

_I have a matter regarding disciplinatory measures to be taken against your son Albus Severus to discuss with you. _

_He together with another student was caught after hexing a third student in the corridors this afternoon and while no one_

_was seriously injured I would like to talk with you about his punishment._

_Please floo into my office at exactly 7.30pm this evening._

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmistress _

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Harry couldn't imagine how Albus could have been caught in a fight. His little boy, the quiet calm one, who preferred reading a book over playing outside, the complete opposite to his brother James who liked to test his wills against everything. How could it have happened that Albus forgot all the rules and hexed another student?

Ginny had been very quick in her assessment of the situation after taking one look at the note.

"It must have been that Malfoy brat that got him into trouble. What else? Our Albus never would hex another on his own and it is as much your fault because you just had to encourage that foolish friendship. Friends with a Malfoy, our son? Now you see just where it gets him. The only thing worse would have been for him to be a Slytherin, at least we had luck with that."

It had taken a lot of Harry's self control not to get angry at her words and shout back. Instead he had simply taken the note from her and locked himself up in his study without further argument. It probably hadn't stopped her from arguing but inside his office he had a permanent Silencing Charm in place that hindered noise from the outside from disturbing him.

There were a lot of retorts that he had wanted to yell back at her but experience in the last three weeks had taught him that it was of no use. He was at a loss in how to talk to his wife at the moment because every time he tried to voice his thoughts it only ended in arguments, accusations and fights.

Harry Potter had no idea how to fix this because in this topic he was determined not to back down. Well, in this meaning the friendship of his second son with the son of a former Death Eater - Ginny's words - and the other one, his recent retirement from Auror Services and choice of new occupation.

As far as Harry could remember this was the first time in nineteen years that they really had a fight on something serious.

His thoughts went back to the note from Professor McGonagall and with that to Albus. It seemed unlikely that Albus had hexed another student without good reason and he didn't for a moment belive that Scorpius Malfoy had goaded him into doing something against his better judgement.

He might never have met the boy, seeing him from afar on Platform 9 and 3/4 didn't count, but the regular owls that Al had sent over the last weeks had him convinced that the boy was a good friend and just what Albus needed to feel at home in Hogwarts.

Not that he hadn't had his own reservations at first. It was the son of Draco Malfoy.

But he had soon admitted to himself that it were only his own memories of the past and lingering prejudices that were against this friendship. And seeing how it was his own chosen task of helping former Death Eaters make a new life he felt like the biggest bigot on earth once he realized his thoughts.

From that moment on he had done his best in supporting his son and sent letters of support and encouragement to Albus Severus who had been rather worried that his parents might disapprove of first his sorting into Ravenclaw and then his choice of friend.

* * *

At exactly 7:30 pm Harry Potter stumbled out of the fireplace in the Headmistress' office at Hogwarts covered in soot from head to toe because he never had gotten the hang of flooing without dirtying himself.

His entrance was met with a deep chuckle and a voice asking, "Allow me." and before he even had looked up at the owner of the voice a Cleansing Charm spread along his body and clothes.

Righting himself and only just repressing the urge to draw his wand, Harry's eyes met the owner of the voice.

"Malfoy." he nodded towards the blond man who was seated comfortably in an armchair in front of McGonagalls desk. Although it had been almost twenty years since their school days, to Harry it seemed as if his old rival hadn't changed at all. His hair was longer than before, it was worn now in a braid but apart from that he looked exactly the same. Pointed face, piercing grey eyes, expensive clothes same as ever only now the expression on Malfoy's face could be called open and friendly something Harry had never seen before.

Harry realized with only little astonishment that he wasn't really surprised by Malfoy's presence at Hogwarts. It was not that far off to deduce that the other student Headmistress McGonagall had mentioned in her note would have been Draco's son and that he and Albus had been together in whatever it had been they had been caught at.

"So, where is the Headmistress? Her note told me to arrive at 7:30. Do you have any idea what happened?" he asked after he took a seat in the armchair next to the one occupied by his former school nemesis.

If Malfoy was surprised by the lack of hostility in Harry's question he didn't show it but calmly answered his questions.

"I met Headmistress McGonagall in the Entrance Hall when I arrived here. She was with some parents I believe and only told me the password and to wait here for her to come back."

He smiled suddenly. "You know this feels like I am twelve again and have been caught after hours or something."

Harry couldn't help but laugh at that. "Oh yes, she still has this effect on me everytime I visit, I know exactly how you feel."

"You are here often then?"

"Not that often." Harry answered, now more serious than before. "Sometimes I just come here to talk to Professor Dumbledore's portrait, mostly in the first few years after you know?"

He noticed Draco flinch a bit at the mention of Dumbledore and dart a glance at the luckily empty portrait hanging on the wall behind McGonagall's desk and continued with a lighter topic. "But since my first son started Hogwarts it's mostly occasions like this that lead me here. James is quite the troublemaker and somehow he ends up more often in the infirmary than I like to see."

"Well, wonder where he gets that from? As I recall you yourself got into quite a lot of trouble during our time here." There was no anger or heat behind these words and the blond man had an almost fond smile on his face.

"That was different." Harry muttered. Most of his visits to the infirmary or the times he got into trouble hat been related to Voldemort but that probably was not something he should mention if he wanted the friendly conversation to stay that way.

Before he could think of anything else to say the door opened and Headmistress McGonagall entered her office. The years since Harry had left school had not changed her by much, her hair was now complete grey and a few more lines had appeared around her eyes and mouth but apart from that she still looked the same as all those years ago.

"Harry, good to see you again." she greeted him with a nod and a smile. "Though I really would prefer other circumstances than today for our next meeting."

Harry returned her greeting with a nod and smile of his own and answered. "Minerva, it's good to see you too. Please, can you tell us what happened?"

From the corner of his eye Harry was able to see that with the arrival of the Headmistress the pleasant expression on Malfoy's face had now changed back to his custumary scowl.

"Yes, Headmistress, to what circumstances do we owe the pleasure of being summoned here?" Draco Malfoy drawled his own question in addition to Harry's.

"Mr.Malfoy, Harry, first of all let me assure you that the boys are in good health and now, I assume that you are aware of the fact that your sons have forged a remarkably close friendship in this very short time that they have known each other?"

She looked at both of them questioning then and receiving identical affirmative nods continued.

"What you probably are not aware of is the fact that even after all this time there is still a tremendous amount of prejudice and bad blood passed down onto children from their parents. A Potter and Malfoy not being sorted into what some believe are their predestined Houses coupled with the fact that these two appear to be inseparable is news that not everyone approves of.

No, please let me continue first."

Both Harry and Draco had already opened their mouth but shut them at McGonagall's raised hand.

"First of all, I'd like to state that I myself do very much approve of this development. From what I can judge they are very well suited to be in Ravenclaw and appear to be two very happy and well adjusted children. I strongly believe that their friendship is genuine and along with the other teachers will do my best to encourage them. Yes, sadly they do get a lot of trouble from others for it.

You have to admit that the both of you in your time here at Hogwarts cannot be called anything else but strong rivals, you were on different sides of the war for the longest time. You, Mr.Potter defeated Voldemort, and as much as you like to play it down you are the Hero of the Wizarding World and now a leading figure in Magical Law Enforcement wheras Mr. Malfoy served his time in Azkaban after the war and lives a very secluded life nowadays. People still see you as embodiment of Light and Dark regardless how many years have passed and how much you may have changed from then, they see what they want to see."

The pensieve looks on both of the man's faces told her all she needed to know.

Harry had never managed to escape his fame and Daco Malfoy in equal parts his infame.

"This afternoon after classes Mr. Filch found three students unconscious in a small corridor leading from Ravenclaw Tower to the kitchens. One of the students was covered in boils and blisters and swollen to almost unrecognizable proportions the other two, your sons, were buried under a large painting that somehow must have come unstuck from the wall.

They are in good health, don't worry, I would have told you immediately if it were serious, just a few bruises and a very light concussion as Madam Pomfrey assured me.

You can see them after we finish here. They are in the infirmary over night to be watched."

"Who was the other student?" Harry asked in a very quiet and worried voice. Inside he was praying with all his heart that he would not hear the name of his older son from McGonagall.

"James MacKenzie, a third year Gryffindor." came the answer from Headmistress McGonagall and Harry released the breath he hadn't even noticed he had been holding. Not his James.

Professor McGonagall seemed to have noticed his apprehension, because she smiled at him reassuringly.

"You don't need to worry about James. In fact, his behaviour towards his brother can only be called exceptionally supportive. I think he has gotten to know and accept Mr. Malfoy as Albus best friend and has diverted quite a few unpleasant situations between some Gryffindors and the two boys.

He is very protective of his little brother and has spent most of this afternoon sitting by his bed."

Draco Malfoy clearing his throat brought back the fact that Harry wasn't alone with the Headmistress. For a moment he had completely forgotten about the others presence.

"Your note said something about a punishment. I can only assume you meant for the one who accosted my son and not punishment for Scorpius. It is quite clear that he only acted in self defense."

The stern look that the Headmistress gave Draco indicated that she didn't share his sentiments exactly.

"Mr. Malfoy, we may suspect how this altercation has come about but fact is, that we don't know exactly what has happened. Priori Incantatem on the three wands show that Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy have thrown Stinging Hexes at Mr. MacKenzie but the only charm that showed up on Mr. MacKenzies wand was the Jelly Legs hex.

Unfortunately the portrait that crushed your sons was empty at that time and as of yet we can not say how the frame could have come unstruck. All portraits at Hogwarts have permanent Sticking Charms on them that only very few old and mostly unknown countercharms can undo."

Harry nodded, thinking back to all the research that had gone into finding a way to take Mrs. Black from her wall at Grimmauld Place. Hermione had spent weeks pouring through old and dusty books to come up with an obscure borderline Dark spell that had finally allowed Harry to move the portrait from its place.

Coming back to the conversation he only caught the last words of Professor McGonagall.

"... I am glad that we can agree upon this. So it's two weeks with Professor Snape for using magic out of classes. Mr. Potter do you agree?"

"Huh! What?" Harry blurted as the other two occupants of the office looked back at him. Malfoy looked a bit miffed but resigned and the Headmistress gave Harry a look that seemed to scold him for not paying enough attention.

"Like I just explained to Mr. Malfoy I cannot let hexing in the corridors go unpunished but, since I agree that it most likely was self defense I proposed that Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy spend two hours everyday in detention with Professor Snape's portrait in his old potions classroom for the duration of two weeks. Can you agreet to this as well, Harry?"

"Oh yeah, sure. That's fine with me." Harry answered with a smile.

After the war Harry himself had made sure that the truth about Professor Snape's role minus some private details had been revealed to the public and that his portrait got his deserved place among the former headmasters of Hogwarts.

Unsurprisingly Severus Snape preferred to spend his time in the painting of a potions laboratory hanging in his former classroom in the dungeons, critizising the teaching techniques of Professor Slughorns successor and scaring the first years. It had taken lots of negotiations and three potions teachers to finally come to an agreement: Professor Snape would cease to disturb classes and simply observe but he would oversee detentions in this classroom.

In his second letter home Albus had written at length and enthusiasticly about his first meeting with his namesake and spending time with him would be no real punishment for the boy. Harry couldn't figure out where his son might have gotten his love of potions from but he was glad nonetheless and even more about the fact that Snape apparently had gotten over his grudge against all things Potter.

"If you'd like to see your sons now, go on. I'm certain you remember the way to the infirmary. You may come back here after that to floo home, if you like."

Headmistress McGonagall rose from her seat behind the desk to see them out and Harry shook her hand.

Both men declined the offer of using the floo and after saying their farewells Harry found himself walking alongside Draco Malfoy through the familiar corridors of Hogwarts to the infirmary.

The way was spent in silence, Harry couldn't think of a single topic to start a conversation and Malfoy seemed lost in thought.

* * *

The Hospital wing was empty as Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy entered the dimly lit room and made their way to the last two beds on the right, hidden from the room by a privacy screen.

What the two men found on passing the screen was rather unexpected.

One bed was empty, the pillow missing and the covers in a heap at the foot of the bed.

The other bed had two heads resting peacefully side by side. One with white hair obscuring the face of the boy fast asleep the other a shock of dark messy hair.

_TBC - Please let me know what you think of it so far?_


	2. Chapter 2

I am sorry that it took me so long to finish this part, I got stuck a few times and I am still not quite satisfied with it but I wanted to have it up before christmas.

Thanks so much for the reviews and for putting this on your story alerts, it means a lot that someone is reading and it might even result in faster updates.

Happy holidays to everyone!

* * *

"They look just like us."

Harry snapped his head towards the blond who had spoken those words next to him.

"No, not like that. Not that we would ever have been that close together without fighting, not that." Draco hastened to correct. "I just mean, just look at them, the hair, the faces … that's all."

Harry let his gaze rest once more on the two small boys lying together in the bed and couldn't suppress the soft smile that crept upon his features. It actually was quite cute and even a bit funny to see someone who looked so much like he himself had as a young boy next to his blond counterpart.

Albus was on his side facing the other boy, his left hand resting under his face while the other hand held onto a pale hand that belonged to Scorpius. His body was curled up in a small heap, just the way he always slept at home. Harry had spent countless hours just watching his children sleep when they were small, and this had been Al's favourite position from a very young age on.

Scorpius on the other hand took up all of the remaining space on the bed with his limbs spread in all directions. Trust a Malfoy to look arrogant even in sleep, Harry thought with something shockingly close to fondness.

The smile on his face didn't falter even as he turned once more to the father of this miniature Malfoy.

"Yeah, they do. Look a lot like us, I mean." He paused and then spoke on. " Strange somehow, seeing them together like this. You know, it's different, reading that they're friends and now actually seeing…"

The expression on the elder Malfoy's face became sharper and enquiring and Harry quickly continued talking.  
"It's a good thing, really. That our boys are friends, I mean. I feel it shows that we did something right. That the war really is long long over."

Malfoy smirked: "Maybe I have instructed Scorpius to make friends with your son to improve our name and reputation. Being associated with a Potter is not a bad thing, you know?"

Harry grinned back at him. "And? Did you?"

He couldn't have reasoned why this thought never crossed his mind but his intuition simply told him that this friendship was not the result of Draco Malfoy trying to further his standing in wizarding society by using his son.  
For a moment Harry wasn't sure if asking this question had been the right thing, even with putting it like a joke, but the answering smile he got in return reassured him as much as the spoken answer following his question.

"To be honest, I wasn't exactly thrilled when I got the first letter from my son stating he had made a, I quote: 'great best friend with the name Albus Potter'.  
I guess it just reminded me a bit too much of our first meeting on the Hogwarts Express and all that developed from there. But then I realized how different from me Scorpius is and that I am very much different from my own father and I felt that holding on to old grudges is not something I am inclined to do anymore, not that there even were that much left to begin with, not after you saving me again and again.

Well, in short, I am glad that Scorpius found a friend, no matter who he is, and I would never interfere in his life or use him for my own purpose."

This was propbably the most that Draco Malfoy had said to Harry ever and he needed a second to take in all that had been covered in this short speech. With these few sentences Draco had said so much Harry had never before known he had wanted to hear, the admission that Harry had saved his life perhaps the most important, second to that hearing that he was not like his father and it gave him hope that the past they shared could at last be forgotten and buried.

It felt like a great big knot that he hadn't even known existed had loosened somehow, he felt lighter and different towards his former school nemesis now.

Standing with Draco Malfoy in Hogwarts medical ward, watching their sons sleep, Harry felt that their relationship had changed for the better through only these few sentences exchanged.

* * *

"Do you want to head back home directly or would you like to have a drink with me in Hogsmeade?" Harry asked as they descended the stairs leaving the castle.

Madam Pomfrey had ushered them out of her domain upon her return after reassuring the fathers that the boys would be fine the next day and with the promise to call if anything happened.  
Harry had already decided that he would return the next day to talk to both his sons and find out how much harassement really had happened and if he could do anything. Even though he had quit his job at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, where his children were concerned he was not satisfied with anybody else trying to protect them. He felt it was his job to make their life easier, if he could.

And the fact of the fallen portrait was suspicious, with those ancient charms in place how could a portrait simply fall off the wall? There must have been someone else present, someone whose wand hadn't been included in the examinations under Priori Incantatem and Harry wanted to know which student thought it was allright to use magics bordering Dark to hurt his son.

There was nothing he and Draco could do before the boys woke up, and so they had put up no resistance as the nurse had told them to leave.

"Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy having a friendly drink together? Why not?"

Harry grinned at Draco's answer.  
"Let's just hope that no one alerts the media, they would have a field day with this. We would end up first page of the prophet.  
If it's ok with you I'd suggest the Hog's Head, I know the owner and we can have a quiet pint there with less chance of being disturbed."

They had already begun walking down the path towards Hogsmeade by then and the lights coming from the castle were dimmer now. To the left the Forbidden Forest loomed as dark and foreboding as it had when they had been students at Hogwarts themselves and a short way ahead gleamed the bronze edges of the entrance gates only illuminated by the moonlight.

"The Hog's Head is fine with me. Preferable even, I have been once at the Two Broomsticks after everything to apologize to Madame Rosmerta, you know, but a different place might be more comfortable. I haven't been to Hogsmeade in almost twenty years."

Harry had not spent much thought on how life might have been for Draco Malfoy after he had done his time in Azkaban. Sure he had given testimony at his trial, had spoken for him even against the protests from his best friends and thus Draco's sentence had been a lot shorter than those of other Death Eaters. As Draco had still been under age in their sixth year and that had been when most of his crimes had taken place, the Wizengamot had been content with a year of imprisonment at Azkaban in a light security ward followed by a five year approbation period during which his use of magic was monitored.

Draco Malfoy had kept a very low profile in the years following the war, Harry had no idea what he did for a living or if he even had to work at all. The only times the name Draco Malfoy had been in the papers in recent years had been once to announce his marriage to a witch from France and a few years later the birth of his son. If it weren't for Ginny pointing out these articles to Harry, he wouldn't even have known these facts.

Now with Albus being friends with Draco's son and the latest news of the situation at Hogwarts he found that he wanted to know more about his life. Had he suffered from prejudices against him after the war? What was his life like?

Draco could probably tell Harry first hand experiences that might help him with his new chosen task. He might know a few things about the difficulties someone would face trying to reintegrate into the wizarding world after spending time in Azkaban prison especially with the stigma of having been on Voldemort's side.

Harry's change of heart concerning his career had been one of his famous "do first think later" decisions. Not the part about leaving the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, that decision had been long coming.  
No, it was more his choice of starting a support network for pardoned criminals that was the move that he might not be best suited for.  
Having been on the side of the law for so many years with the primary task of apprehending criminals he didn't know much about helping people back on their feet. The idea had started to form in his head a year ago after the gruesome murder of Nathalie Higgs, a woman who had been sentenced to 10 years in Azkaban for her involvement with the Death Eaters. She had been on the run for years after the war and was one of the last known Death Eaters to be captured.  
Her crime had been in running one of the Muggle camps at her home, a task she persistently claimed not she but her husband had volunteered for and Stephen Higgs had been captured at the last battle and died in Azkaban shortly after the war.  
Sure she did have the Dark Mark and had been identified by a lot of muggle born wizards and witches that had been held captive in the camp there but even with those witness accounts her trial had seemed a very rushed affair from what Harry could recall.  
It had been at the time that Albus had just been born and Ginny and he had gone through a very rough patch in their marriage, which had somehow resulted in another pregnancy shortly after and Harry had not paid much attention to the goings on in the Ministry at that time.

Last year Nathalie Higgs had burned to death in her own home with all evidence pointing towards fire raising but the investigation had been merely superficial before the case had been put down and closed with the final statement that it probably had been an accidential fire started by the woman herself. It had not been Harry's case but overhearing a few comments made by the aurors assigned to it had made him wonder and pushed him to do a bit of investigating after hours himself.

Harry was startled out of his thoughts by a hand taking his arm and Draco's voice near his ear.

"Potter, you might not be wearing glasses anymore but it seems you're still as blind as ever."

It was said with a teasing undertone and Harry realized that he had been almost walking straight into one of the trees lining the walk to Hogsmeade.

"Oh, well. Just a lot on my mind right now." He mumbled and forced his thoughts away from the past and to the present. A present in which he was about to have drinks with his former school nemesis.

The Hog's Head hadn't changed much in twenty years, everything was still quite shabby and sinister looking, the light from the few magical bulbs didn't reach the tables spread out against the wall farest from the bar.

Aberforth Dumbledore was shuffling around behind the bar looking much as he had in Harry's youth, only his hair and beard were now stark white, making his familial relation to Albus Dumbledore much more apparent. He didn't greet Harry any special way, nor did his face show any surprise at Harry's companion, all that came out of his mouth was a gruff sounding "Beer, or anything else?".

"Two beer and two Firewhiskeys in clean glasses." Harry said and without waiting for Abe's answering grunt turned towards one of the tables in the back, quickly casting a Scourgify over the table and chairs before sitting down on one side, gesturing for Malfoy to take the other one.

Malfoy had both eyebrows almost raised to his hairline as he sat down after spelling the chair clean once more himself.

"Nice place you brought me. You come here often?" The words sounded a lot like the snobbish Malfoy of old but Harry couldn't bring himself to feel insulted by them. It wasn't as if the Hog's Head was his first choice of pub either but the small village of Hogsmeade didn't have anything else to offer.

At least they would be able to talk freely without worrying about anyone notifying the press because at the moment there were no other patrons there at all.

Even twenty years after the war, any appearance of Harry even in the remotest place of the Wizarding World had not ceased to stirr a certain amount of interest with the press. He was not hounded by reporters like it had been right after the war, but anything he did seemed still important enough to warrant an article in every newspaper; even the sorting of his son into Ravenclaw had been noted by the Daily Prophet.

It annoyed Harry but he had become resigned to it. Apart from leaving the Wizarding World and disappearing into the anonymity of the Muggle World there wasn't much he could do about the public's interest in his person so he had learned to live with it.

Talk during the first round of drinks centered mostly around the attack on their children and Harry informed Draco about his plans to interview his other son and investigate a bit further.

He shared his suspicions about the fallen portrait with the other parent and promised to keep him updated on anything he found out during his search for answers.

"Going to make it an Auror investigation? Well, you're Harry Potter, if anyone can mobilise the Aurors for a school prank gone bad, it would be you."

"Do you really think it was only a prank gone wrong?" Harry asked and continued without giving Malfoy a chance to retort.

"Even if it was, the one responsible needs to be found. A spell like that, a spell no school child should even know exists and to be used in this way, I can't let that go.

But, no it won't be the Aurors doing the investigating, just myself. As of today I am no longer part of the DMLE."

"What are you saying? You are the Magical Law Enforcement! How can you not be ..." Draco's questions came in rapid succession and Harry held up a hand to throw a word in.

"Yes, I can. I quit the Auror Department, I don't work for the Ministry any longer." He stated calmly.

"You? Harry Potter, Hero Extraordinary, Saviour of the World quit the Auror's?" Draco asked and leaned back on his bench, his body language signaling only moderate interest but the gleaming in his eyes betrayed his pose.

"Well yes, actually I filed the papers only today." Harry had the scroll written and sent to Kingsley just this afternoon, he hadn't stuck around any longer after that. He'd been trying to evade Kingsley Shacklebolt who would undoubtedly try to convince him or guilt him into staying another few years just like he had five years ago when Harry had first wanted to leave.

Not even Ginny knew that he had actually quit as of now. He had wanted to tell her on coming home but the owl from McGonnagal had already been waiting and anything after that had been fighting and yelling and there had been no opportunity to slip the news in.

Well, she would know soon enough.

Maybe it even made her happy with as much as she had been nagging at him about never being there for the children and her and his work coming always first.

Why he had told Malfoy now of all people he had no idea but it had just come out. Well, sooner or later the whole Wizarding World would know and Harry thought there was no point in hiding this fact.

"How? Why..? Sorry, I know it's not my business at all and it's ok if you don't want to talk about it with me, but it's just so unexpected."

Grey eyes were fixed on Harry's green eyes, sparkling with excited curiosity.

Confronted with this blatant curiosity shining in Draco's face, Harry hesitated before giving his answer. Why not tell the truth?

The reasons he had written in his letter to Kingsley had been nothing but a smokescreen: sure, he would be able to spend more time with his family, live somewhat less dangerous and at age almost forty he sometimes felt his age while running and ducking but that weren't his real reasons to quit the Auror service.

"It doesn't feel right anymore," he began, "when I joined, right after the war, it seemed to be the right thing to do. Find the remaining Death Eaters, put them into Azkaban, make the world a safer place for my children to grow up in and all that.

Sure, I still want everyone to be safe but it doesn't feel anymore like being an Auror is the only way to ensure that. More even, some people are in more danger from the Aurors themselves than they would be if left alone."

At that last statement Draco raised his eyebrows.

Slowly he nodded. "People like me." He didn't make it a question.

"Like you." Harry confirmed. "And they don't have anyone on their side. Every former Death Eater, no matter that they spent their time in Azkaban can be brought in for questioning by an Auror even without a real case or suspicion."

"Once a Death Eater always a Death Eater." Draco threw in with a bitter voice.

"And a lot of wizards hold grudges for a long time, Aurors are no excemption to that. If an Ex-Azkaban, like they're called on the inside, dies a mysterious death, no questions are asked. Investigation almost none, accidents are the preferred explanation.

Do you remember Nathalie Higgs, Tom Augrey, Steven Cornfield … to name only a few who died in a suspicious way? Cases are closed, further investigation is firmly discouraged.

There are even some prisoners still in Azkaban who, even though their time is up, are simply left there. As long as no one outside asks for them and pressures the Ministry to release them, they like to forget about them or worse even invent reasons to prolong their sentence.

That's simply wrong. For that I don't want to work any longer.

It's not long before your Father's sentence, twenty years, are done, isn't it? I belive some fractions in the Ministry are already searching for reasons to leave him there.

If those incarcerated at Azkaban have family at all left outside, most often they don't have the resources or connections anymore to even hire a solicitor to represent their case.

I fought to make the world a better place as chlicheed as it may sound and now I don't know anymore if this world is what I want to fight for."

Well, for not knowing whether to tell the truth or not, there had been quite a lot coming out here, Harry thought ruefully. It had felt catharic to let it all out without being corrected or contradicted for once.

Draco really was a good listener or maybe he knew a few things himself and simply understood Harry's frustration with it all.

"I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised and impressed." Draco said after a short pause.

"Never would have thought that the icon of the Wizarding World would be able to see the world for what it is."

Maybe he shouldn't have said all that, Harry thought, but he didn't feel any real regret. It had felt quite good actually to let it all out. He couldn't talk like that with his closest friends anymore. Long ago, Ron and Hermione would have been the first to listen to his thoughts and fight right beside him against corruption and outdated views inside the Ministry but a lot had changed in recent years. Both were content with their positions in the Ministry, liked the influence they had in their own departments and wouldn't hear what Harry had to criticize.

Ginny, his own wife had never been that interested in the going ons in the Ministry. Her passion had once been to play Quidditch but after James birth she had stopped playing and never even hinted that she might want to again.

Her only interest in his work had consisted in telling him to choose only missions that allowed him to return home everyday and nagging constantly that his work was too dangerous for a man who had family.

"I guess I simply am no longer the naive boy who entered the Auror Services after having defeated Voldemort and thought he would be able to do good there. Not that it all has been bad but I think I had my eyes closed to a lot that went wrong, couldn't or wouldn't see all that got hushed up."

Draco was staring into the space somewhere above Harry's left shoulder, a thoughtful expression on his face. He sighed once and looked straight into Harry's eyes.

"I have been out of the country for a long time but Mother kept me informed of everything she regards as important and I have heard quite a few rumors. Families who have lived in Britain for generations are leaving and if Scorpius hadn't insisted and begged to be allowed to go to Hogwarts I don't know if I would have come back at all."

He sighed again and leaned a little closer towards Harry.

"I thought I was prepared but things over here are worse than I imagined. Living in Paris, it's so easy to forget about the past, no wizard or witch over there cares about a war that has been fought almost twenty years ago and of course the war hasn't touched people there all that much to begin with. The French have a completely different outlook on life, they simply enjoy life and living among them teaches you a thing or two.

A lot of my world views have changed in the past twenty years, I have changed but coming back here it feels as if nothing changed at all.

Now though, hearing these things from your mouth, gives me a little hope. I am glad that your eyes are open even though I can understand if you feel frustrated or uncomfortable with it."

"Frustrated yes, angry even but not so much uncomfortable." Harry answered. "I feel guilty for not seeing sooner, for going along with so much before I realized what is happening in the wizarding world.

Since I really started paying attention I have discovered so much injustice hidden in our laws, you wouldn't believe it."


	3. Chapter 3

I am so sorry that it took me this long to update. RL has been a bit of a drama lately and I couldn't concentrate on writing. I am not completely satisfied but it's done at last and I hope the next part won't take as long.

Part of this was inspired by a prompt on insanejournal from faynia: "For the love of God, don't tell me that you lost the freaking map."

Thank you all very much for reading and commenting! The next part will have Harry and Draco in it again, I promise and I hope it won't take a month again.

* * *

"So, the rumours of your injuries have been greatly exaggerated, I see." 

The two boys halted barely inside the gloomy room as the heavy door slowly swang shut behind them.

"Good evening, Professor Snape!" the blond boy greeted the dark man in the portrait on the far side of the room. His companion stepped a few paces closer into the room and lifted his head showing a brilliant smile.

"Good evening, sir! It wasn't really bad at all. We were already back at classes today." Albus grinned at the man who scowled down from his frame.

"And now we're here for our detention." Scorpius added and moved toward the desk set up in the middle of the room.

The room was an unused practise room situated in the dungeons right off to the side from the regularly used classroom. The portrait of an office that Professor Snape was now inhabiting had been added to the room after the agreement on the detentions observed by the Professor had been reached. As a painted person could easily wander from portrait to portrait as long as they were not too far away from each other this had been a solution everyone was content with. Professor Snape still spent most of his time in the small frame that was hanging in the current classroom but whenever a detention was to be served these would take place in this small room.

A door that lead to a small Potions storeroom had been added so that the students could obtain the ingredients necessary for their work. The room was stocked with harmless ingredients only as the portrait of Professor Snape couldn't prevent the students bodily from taking whatever was in the room so the potions made during those detentions were mostly simple ones.

The portrait took up quite a lot of the space on the smaller wall of the room. With three feet width and almost five feet height it was close to having the Professor in the room with the students and when Snape rose from his seat behind the desk and strode to the edge of the image looking down at the students with an unblinking stare from his dark eyes both boys flinched and looked down at the floor.

"Ah yes, detention for two weeks is what the Headmistress told me. Well, if I have to suffer your presence for two weeks straight will you tell me what exactly it is that you are punished for?"

Albus shuffled uncomfortably but Scorpius held his head high and looked up to the image of Severus Snape.

"Throwing hexes in the hallways, Sir" he answered without hesitation.

"Mr. Malfoy, I may be dead but I can assure you that the part of myself that dwells in this image is neither dense nor senile. You know as well as I do, that my question pertained to the situation that caused you to react with hexes rather than words. That it resulted in hexing a student is a fact known to me so there was no need to ask for a clarification on that part, right?" Snape's portrait paused and then continued in a completely different voice.

"So, boys. What happened that you had to resort to throwing hexes around? That's not much like you."

Albus and Scorpius head's turned toward each other at the same moment and though neither said a word they seemed to come to a conclusion and as one turned their faces to wards the portrait.

"Do you promise not to tell our parents or anyone else about this?" Albus was the one to ask.

Snape's portrait raised an eyebrow.

"And why is that?"

"You see, they would make a big thing out of it. We didn't tell anyone what happened and even so Albus' father is all set to start an Auror investigation over this. It was just a quarrel between students that got a bit out of hand. No one was seriously harmed and we can take care of ourselves."

Albus added: "Dad is always overreacting whenever one of us is hurt. I know that it only shows how much he cares about us but he can't solve everything. It will only make things worse if he barges in. We're not helpless small children anymore."

The identical looks of youthful indignation mixed with pleading almost brought a smile to the Potions master's painted face but was immediately suppressed and turned back into a stern and serious expression.

"I assure you that I'll treat everything you tell me confidentially as long as it doesn't conflict with my vows to protect the school and it's students.

It's the spell that was used to drop the painting on your heads that has caused all this alarm. Everyone is very concerned because it was a darker spell that no student of this school should know how to use. It's possible the student didn't know what the nature of that spell was, that it is regarded as dark and maybe they did but didn't care. If your attacker is found out and should it be discovered that they knew what the spell was I have no doubt that he or she will be expelled from Hogwarts."

Another message without words seemed to pass between the two boys and again it was Scorpius who spoke first.

"We know that. Headmistress McGonagall and Mr. Potter made that clear and that exactly is one of the reasons why we can't tell. We have decided that we don't want anybody expelled over this, we came to no real harm and it really was nothing more than a prank."

"We tried to tell Dad and the Headmistress but they won't listen to us." Albus took over and Snape was eerily reminded of the Wesley twins who had had the bad habit of continuing each other's sentences. It wasn't as bad with those two but enough so that it reminded Severus of them.

"No one should be expelled for that. It was a mistake someone made and they won't get away with it unpunished but we should be the ones to decide what happens to them. We can stand up for ourselves, if we don't things will only get worse."

Snape raised a brow and regarded the boys silently for a minute. Under his steady scrutiny they started to fidget a little but stayed mostly in place and stared right back at his portrait.

"Very well then, " he said at last, "I will refrain from asking who attacked you as I am bound to reveal the identity to the Headmistress as part of my vows to the school. If you feel capable of handling the situation on your own, so be it.

Now then, what task did Professor Speller set you for today's detention?"

He couldn't suppress the derision in his voice while saying the Professor's name not that he even tried to do so. How that woman had qualified for the job as a Potions teacher at Hogwarts would forever remain a mystery to him. Not even Minerva would talk about the subject anymore after he had made more than clear his opinion of the new teacher's abilities.

That simpering silly brainless woman who looked to be not even old enough to have graduated herself less having studied seriously the art of brewing potions was only the latest in a long succession of fools who tried to teach the job. In all of the twenty years that had passed since he himself had been alive and at Hogwarts not one of the bumbling idiots who took on the part of teaching potions had been even barely competent and Sally Speller was worse than the lot before.

As of yet, three weeks into the school year, the first years had still to come even into the vicinity of a cauldron, all classes had been lectures with the exception of having to chop some roots or other ingredients found in a children's potions set. Nothing had been brewed so far and the older classes were not faring much better. The few times he had witnessed a practical class not one of them had gone by without a few cauldrons exploding and the resulting damage only kept small by the swift appearance and reaction of a few house elves while the silly girl had been cowering under a desk.

Were it not for the Silencing spell that had been cast upon his portrait in the classroom, he, Severus Snape would have the girl running from school crying to never set a foot in another classroom again but even with all the portraits he was able to visit he hadn't been able to corner her. Yet.

Albus spoke up again. "She didn't actually give us anything to do for today."

Snape waited for the blond boy to add an explanation and as expected, Scorpius Malfoy took over without pause.

"Said it was too soon to start detentions. That we should recover fully and not worry about punishment. But we really would like to do some practical potions if you don't mind teaching us, Professor Snape."

The mischievous glint in both boy's eyes was hard to miss when Albus stepped forward and pulled a small gaudy box with the big bright logo of Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes from his robe.

"Sir, we would really like to learn something about these Euphoria Toffees. See, they are a lot of fun, cause everyone to dance around and sing silly songs and all, but because they are so well known, no one will eat them like this.

We think it's time to brighten the mood a little and what's better than some singing and dancing and everyone making idiots of themselves? Hopefully they all feel so ashamed after that they forget to harass us about the accident.

Do you think you could help us figure out what we missed?"

Albus looked up at the portrait with big green eyes shining with hope.

"Euphoria Toffees hm, wonder were they got that from?" Snape murmured and watched with interest Scorpius pulling a thick pile of parchment from his bag.

Scorpius spread his notes over the desk and seemed to be searching for something in the pile.

After a short moment a pulled a sheet from the table with a triumphant smile and turned to wards the portrait.

"Here, we did already lots of tests and analysis on the ingredients. The only thing we can't figure out is why there's peppermint in it and what exactly makes people sing when they ..."

The man in the portrait grumbled something that sounded like: "That's what I'd like to know myself." in a very low voice but gestured for Scorpius to carry on.

"Yes, like I said, we would like to find out what makes them sing and dance and if all that peppermint and chocolate is really necessary or if would be possible to make it a potion?"

It was obvious to Snape that this interest in the Euphoria Potion was not as harmless as the boys tried to make it look but teaching them the finer points of Advanced Potions would make an interesting pastime.

"The potion we are talking about is the Elixir to Induce Euphoria and it's part of the sixth year curriculum. The addition of peppermint to the potion was my very own invention." He threw a stern look toward the boys standing with matching smiles in front of his portrait.

"What are you waiting for? Why aren't you taking notes?"

* * *

"For the love of God, don't tell me that you lost the freaking map." 

Albus Severus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy were stopped on their way back to their dorm by the voice of Albus' brother, James who had been waiting in a small alcove near the bottom of the staircase that lead up to Ravenclaw Tower.

Albus turned to wards the voice although there was no one to see. Typical of James to wear the Invisibility Cloak. Ever since their father had given him his most precious possession, he never went anywhere without it.

"Drop the cloak, I won't talk to you if I can't see you." Albus said rolling his eyes in the direction he assumed his brother was standing in.

A rippling of fabric to their right revealed the dark hair of James Potter and the rest of his body followed as the silvery shimmering cloak slowly came of. As soon as his head was visible he repeated his question.

"So, where is the map? I saw you with Neville, did he take it?"

It had been a near thing. Coming out of Hogwarts kitchen after visiting the house elves to celebrate the success of their first great prank Albus and Scorpius had not even thought about checking the map first before stepping into the corridor only to run smack into Professor Longbottom.

How could he have known that Professor Longbottom knew the story behind the sheet of parchment he almost confiscated? It had looked like a blank paper when Albus and Scorpius had been pressed to empty their pockets and no other Professor would have spent a second look but no, with their bad luck, Neville Longbottom knew exactly what the paper in front of him was and had decided that it would be better kept in his office until he could send it back to Harry Potter.

The bad thing was that Harry Potter didn't even know that his sons had found the Marauders Map and decided that it was a total waste to keep such a thing of genius at home in Godrics Hollow when it could be of so much better use in their hands at Hogwarts. They had listened to so many stories about the map told by Uncle Ron and Uncle George and when they had found the piece of parchment neatly put away with their dad's other school things in the attic it had been too much of a temptation to leave it at home.

"He didn't take it." Scorpius answered the question at last while a wide smile slowly formed on his face.

"You should have seen Al, he was truly great. He was so playing it up on the pity part. '_Oh, Professor Neville, please it's just so that we can make sure not to run into someone again, you know? Dad just wanted to make sure that nothing like The Accident happens again and we only use it to be safe around here.'_ and all that he says with his biggest puppy eyes and the I am so small and helpless posture."

And Scorpius burst out laughing aloud.

"And with a perfectly straight face, not like you, coughing and spluttering only to hide your laughing." Albus added and dissolved into giggles.

"And he just gave it back to you?" James almost couldn't believe their luck but had to as Albus produced said map from the insides of his robes and presented it to him.

"He did. But he still might mention it to Dad. I don't know? Think we should tell Dad before he finds out?" Albus quickly became serious again at the thought of his father hearing from Neville Longbottom and probably being disappointed about his sons.

James' face took on a slightly embarrassed look, the one he always had when he had done something to Albus' playthings when they were young and he was forced to admit his guilt for something or other.

"Well, Al see, Dad already knows that we have it." He didn't get to say anything further because Albus was in his face and screaming. "You told him? You slimy git, you two faced excuse for a brother, ..." and then he was silent because Scorpius had cast a Silencio apparently and though Albus mouth was still working furiously not another sound was coming from him.

Scorpius took Albus arm then and managed to calm him down with that simple act.

"Let James explain before you explode, alright?"

Albus glowered at him for a second but nodded then and turned back to James who was still staring at the miracle before him. He had never seen Albus come down from an explosive fury in such a short time, normally it took hours of carefully avoiding his brother and some broken gadgets before a storm like the one that had been forming right here would be over.

Scorpius nodded at James as well and encouraged him with a smirk to go on.

"I didn't tell Dad, well not voluntarily. It was when you were still in the hospital and he was so upset about the attack and everything and then he told me that he had searched his school trunk to give the map to you and it wasn't there. What do you think I should have done? You know how intimidating Dad can get sometimes and so I confessed that I had taken it."

The explanation seemed to pacify Albus and Scorpius ended his Silencing charm, thus allowing Albus to speak again.

"I still think you're a backstabbing bastard but that's nothing new. So what are you doing here then? Following us around?"

"Someone has to keep an eye on you, little brother."

"I really wish everyone would just stop that and back the hell off. We're not helpless small children, we can look after ourselves and I really don't need my big brother to protect me!"

"Aw, is little Albi feeling touchy?" James grinned and ruffled his smaller brother's hair but stepped back quickly when Albus fist almost connected with his nose. "Yeah ok, I get it. You don't need protection and from what happened at breakfast this morning I'd say you and Blondie here are well able to hold your own. You had something to do with it, right?"

A smirk passed over the small boy's faces but was quickly replaced by identical looks of extreme innocence.

"We? Why would you think that?" Scorpius asked. "Didn't the Headmistress announce that it was a mistake made by the elves in preparing the pumpkin juice?"

James scoffed at that.

"As if house elves make stupid mistakes like that. My guess is that someone convinced the elves that a potion or whatever else induced into the juice of Gryffindor table would be a very good idea. Don't play innocent, it's me, James Potter, I know a prank if I see one. And honestly, great work I'd say for little firsties like yourselves to pull something like that, my respect."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Albus grinned and tried without success to keep his innocent face intact.

"Good one, little brother, " James smiled proudly and then became serious. "Did you visit Rose? She's quite upset that she'll miss two weeks of classes due to her being allergic to peppermint. Forgot about that, did you? Remember the one time, George wanted to try his new toffees and she developed this horrible rash and had to stay in bed for weeks?"

"Oh, is she?" Scorpius asked. "That's too bad for her."

If James hadn't been observing his little brother's face intently while talking about Rose, he might have missed the small flicker of satisfaction that passed Albus face only to be immediately replace with polite concern but as he had been watching for exactly something like this he was not surprised and managed not to reveal that he had noticed.

"I didn't know she was in the hospital. Classes and detention afterwords, you know?" Albus answered after a short pause. "But I fear I have to refrain from visiting her, she made quite clear that she doesn't approve of my choice in friends and that she prefers me staying away from her.

If you're going to visit her again, just tell her to be more careful in the future. Sorry, we need to step inside now, curfew and all that. Good night James."

With that Albus smiled inscrutably and stepped onto the staircase.


End file.
